Ornament construction



July 11, 1939. w. c. BOOTS ORNAMENT CONSTRUCTION Filed'Dec. 18, 1936 INVENTOR C A3479 Z ATT3R5 Patented July 11, 1939 UNITED STATES ORNAMENT CONSTRUCTION William 0. Boots, Attleboro, Mass, assignor to Guyot Brothers, Inc., a corporation of Massachusetts Application December 18, 1936, Serial No. 116,585

7 Claims.

My present invention relates to the jewelry art and has particular reference to the manufacture of dress clips and clamp findings therefor.

Dress clips of standard type have an ornament of metal, usually inset with semi-precious stones, and a retention clamp which is mounted on the back of the clip to permit detachable securing of the clip to a garment such as a dress, a hat, a scarf or the like. The clamps used for dress clips have heretofore included a hinged element which is spring held in clamping position and which has teeth or projections for more effectively gripping a textile fabric or the like that is positioned between the clamp and the orna- 5 ment. This construction does not, however, in-

sure a firm grip, and particularly when the clip is used on fine fabrics; it has been found that there is danger of losing the clip, and of tearing the fabric because the weight of the clip is concentrated on gripping elements of narrow area.

It is the principal object of my invention to provide a clamp finding for a dress clip which will securely lock the clip to a fabric, without danger of tearing the fabric, or of becoming accidentaliy detached therefrom.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a simple construction for a clamp finding that may be manufactured at low cost and quickly assembled, the finding being readily mounted on the back of the dress clip ornament.

It is an additional object of my invention to provide a clamp for a dress clip which exerts a substantial pressure over a large area, so as to grip a fabric without tearing.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a clamp for a dress clip which may be securely locked in place against accidental opening, so as to prevent loss of the dress clip.

With the above and other objects and advanm tageous features in View, my invention consists of a novel arrangement of parts more fully disclosed in the detailed description following, in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, and more specifically defined in the claims appended thereto.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a dress clip equipped with my novel clamp finding;

Fig. 2 is a rear view thereof;

5 Fig. 3 is a side view thereof, the clamp being in closed position;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, the clamp being in open position;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section of the clamp on as the line 5-5 of Fig, 2;

Fig. 6 is a perspective View of the clamp lever;

Fig. 7 is a perspective View of the pressure plate;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the clamp base;

Figs. 9 and 10 are respectively end and sec- 5 tional longitudinal views of a modified form of construction of the novel clamp;

Figs. 11 and 12 are respectively rear and longitudinal sectional views showing a different modified construction; and 10 Fig. 13 is a perspective view of the spring therefor.

Referring to the drawing the dress clip H] includes a metal ornament I l which may be formed I of any desired material, of any contour, and ornamented in any desired manner by the addition of precious and semi-precious stones, or by enameling, cutting or the like.

A retaining clamp l2, preferably stamped out of sheet metal is mounted on the back of the 20 ornament ll, and comprises a metal base 53 generally bent in the form of a U, see Fig. 8, consisting of an upper member I4, and a lower member I5 which preferably is of ample size and is adapted to be securely attached to the back 25 of the ornament H, as by soldering or the like. The upper member I4 is shaped toprovide two aligned hinged sockets or recesses l6 and a central spring tongue I1, whereby a lever l8, see Fig. 6, having spaced hinge pins 19 may be se- 30 cured in the upper member !3, the lever I8 having a downwardly extending cam portion 26 and an opening 2! into which the end of the tongue I! extends to cooperate with the mounting of the pins in the sockets and thus complete the 5 mounting of the lever in the upper member 13.

The spring finger l'I acts as a resilient retaining means for retaining the lever it in either vertical or horizontal position, by contacting the cooperating parts of the cam and the upper edge 49 of the opening. The rear portion of the member I3 is cut out as indicated at 22 to provide a recess for receiving the lever I8, and the end of the lever I8 has a finger engageable element 23, preferably formed as a shell or a ball, which may 45 be grasped by the fingers so as to shift the lever as desired. 1

A pressure plate 24, see Fig. '7, is preferably struck up to provide a central tongue which is passed through the opening 2| and bent over so 50 as to lock the pressure plate to the lower end of the cam, but permitting free swinging movement therefrom. The upper end of the pressure plate also has a struck up tongue which is curled as indicated at 26 to form a band adapted to fit into the shaped slot 22 at the upper end in the member I 3 when the plate is in its upper position,

7 in Fig. l, the pressure plate 24 is positioned above the lower element l5 so as to permit insertion of a dress fabric or the like therebetween; when the lever I8 is moved to its down position, see Fig. 3, the cam 20 has moved to a vertical position and causes the pressure plate to press firmly against the inserted fabric and the lower member 15 so as to firmly grip the fabric, the large area of the gripping surface insuring an even distribution of pressure and preventing disengagement of the fabric from the clamp and injury to the material itself. If desired, the pressure plate may be punched or formed to provide small projections or teeth on the lower surface.

When the dress clip is of valuable material, it is preferred to use a construction such as illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10, theen'd 21 of the member i311 having a hinge ear 28 formed thereon or secured thereto for accommodating a lock ring 29,. which may be slipped over the head 23a of the lever l8, this head being preferably formed as a knob or ball rising above the lever surface, whereby the ring when in locked position extends over the knob or ball so as to prevent accidental opening of the lever l8. 7

The above described constructions do not utilize any spring means, and depend for their action upon leverage of the parts, the cam 20 being so positioned with relation to the lever l8 that it locks the pressure plate when in down position, this locking being assisted by the resilient action of the tongue ll, any attempted withdrawal of the fabric merely tending to pull the cam end towards the open mouth of the member I2, and thus increasing the locking efiect. However, it may be preferable for certain construe tions to use a spring arrangement, and the clamp 38, see Figs. 11 and 12, which has a U-shaped base 3| and a lever 32 provided with a cam end 33 similar to the member I3, and the lever l8 and its cam end 2%, also has a flat spring 34 shaped as illustrated in Fig. 13, having a lower portion 35 which is secured to the lower plate 35a of the base 3!, and an upper portion 36 to provide a tongue of extended area which is bendable when the lever 32 is pressed downwardly so as to firmly grip a textile material between the free end of the tongue 36 andthe lower plate 35a. The end of the tongue may have humps or teeth on its lower surface, if desired.

Although I have described constructions which are primarily designed for dress clips, the inventive features may be app-lied to any clamp arrangement, and changes in the material used for the parts, their shape, and their relative size and arrangement may be made to suit the requirements for different clamping uses, without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An ornament clamp comprising a lower element and an upper element spaced from said lower element, said lower element being adapted to be secured to an ornament, a pressure plate adapted to move towards said lower element to securely grip material placed therebetween, said pressure plate having an extended portion slidable in a slot in said upper element for guiding said pressure plate in its open position, and means mounted in said upper element for moving said pressure plate, said means including a manually movable lever hinged in said upper element and a cam. engaging said pressure plate.

2. An ornament clamp comprising a lower element and an upper element spaced from said lower element, said lower element being adapted to be secured to an ornament, a pressure plate adapted to move towards said lower element to securely grip material placed therebetween, said pressure plate having an extended portion slidable in a slot in said upper element for guiding said pressure plate in its open position, and means mounted in said upper element for moving said pressure plate and for locking said pressureplate in gripping position, said means including a manually movable lev'e'r hinged in said upper element and a cam engaging said pressure plate.

3. An ornament clamp comprising a lower element and an upper element spaced from said lower element, said lower element being adapted to be secured to an ornament, a pressure plate adapted tomove towards said lower element .to securely grip material placed therebetween, said pressure plate having an extended portion slidable in a slot in said upper element for guiding said pressure plate in its open position, means mounted in said upper element for moving said pressure plate, said means including a manually movable lever hinged in said upper element and a cam engaging said pressure plate, and spring means integral with said upper element for retaining said means selectively in gripping or nongripping position.

4. An ornament clamp comprising a lower element and an upper element spaced from .said. lower element, said lower element being adapted to be secured to an ornament, a pressure plate adapted to move towards said lower element to securely grip material placed therebetween, said pressure plate having an extended portion slidable in a slot in said upper element for guiding said pressure plate in its open position, means mounted in said upper element for moving said pressure plate and for locking said pressure plate in gripping positiomsaid means including a manually movable lever hinged in said upper element and a cam engaging said pressure plate, said spring -means integral with said upper element for retaining said means relatively in gripping or non-gripping position. 7

ornament clamp comprising a lower element and an upper element spaced from said lower element, a manually movable lever hinged in said upper element, a cam projecting downwardly from said lever, and a pressure plate loosely hinged to said cam and movable upon movement of said lever to grip material between said pressure plate and said lower element, said cam having an-abutment, and resilient means integral with said upper element engaging said abutment to retain said pressure plate in gripping position.

6. An ornament clamp comprising a lower element and an upper element spaced from said lower element, a manually movable lever hinged in said upper element, a cam projecting downwardly from said lever, and a pressure plate loosely hinged to said cam and movable upon movement of said lever to grip material between. said pressure plate and said lower element, said cam having an opening, and resilient meansintegral with said upper element engaging one edge of said opening to retain said pressure plate in gripping position.

7. An ornament clamp comprising a lower element and an upper element spaced from said lower element, a manually movable lever hinged in said upper element, a cam depending downwardly therefrom and having an opening, a pressure plate suspended from said lower edge of said opening and movable towards said lower element upon movement of said lever in one direction, and a spring finger secured to said upper element and extending into said opening to press against said cam when it is moved so as to move said pressure plate into gripping and non-gripping position.

WILLIAM C. BOOTS. 

